Across the Midwest, underserved communities and low-density areas are in need of upgraded networking service. So, what’s the hold up when it comes to building out new infrastructure? Unfortunately, the cost of putting fiber in these communities is high, and with low population numbers, many providers simply can’t justify the project. The Ohio government has been on the case, however, solving this challenge by injecting grant funds where needed to spur development.
In March 2022, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced that they would be establishing broadband expansion projects that would bring affordable, high-speed internet to nearly 100,000 underserved households across the state. The result? $232 million dollars in grant money handed out.
Horizon, an Ohio-based fiber-optic broadband company, has just proudly announced that it has been awarded nearly $30 million in this grant funding, and it will be spearheading two projects. One build will cover a portion of Fayette County, and another will span Fayette, Highland and Ross counties.
Once completed, these Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) deployments will empower residents with speeds of up to one-gigabit download and one-gigabit upload — and this highly scalable technology will also meet future needs beyond symmetrical 1G service.
“We are very excited to be working once again with the State of Ohio in a true public/private collaboration to further the mutual community-oriented goal of providing highly reliable internet service to Ohioans throughout the state,” comments Jim Capuano, CEO of Horizon. “We have built out a number of strategic Fiber-to-the-Home projects, with many more planned, and this grant will enable us to further empower in-need homes, families, and businesses in the most rural areas. This is, and always has been, the core goal of Horizon, and we’re honored to be serving our community in this way.”
Without this grant money — and without Horizon’s local expertise, history of dedicated service, and reputation for community support — deployments like these throughout in-need, underserved and low-density communities would likely not come to fruition.
This funding award comes on the heels of Horizon’s range of announced Fiber-to-the-Home builds across the state of Ohio, accentuating the company’s enduring dedication to delivering mission-critical, high-quality and reliable networking services to those that demand them.
To read this press release in its entirety, click here.
